Never Give Up
Posted at 12:09 am in house plants, perseverance, prayer plants
Do you sometimes feel like giving up? Well, don’t. I had a long journey to the publication of my first book, and I’m glad I didn’t give up my dream even though I came very close several times. But I’m not going to talk about writing or getting published. Today I’m going to continue my blogs about plants and gardening by writing about perseverance. I’m going to tell the story about a plant. Here it is, or at least an offshoot of the original.
When our first daughter was born nearly thirty-four years ago, my husband bought me a small prayer plant. Over the years the plant grew, and I repotted it several times. By the time I had owned it for fifteen years, it had grown quite large. During that fifteenth year, we moved from Massachusetts to Texas. When you move long distance, you are told that the movers will NOT guarantee that your plants will survive the move. They are boxed up and put into the dark trailer of a moving van. They receive no water, and there is no heat control. This move took place in August, and if you’ve never been to Texas in August, you can’t imagine the heat. We arrived in Texas, and a day later our possessions arrived. Some things we put in storage, and the rest we moved into the apartment we were renting temporarily until we could move into our new house that was under construction.
I opened up the boxes, and much to my delight, all of my plants had survived the long, hot trip. The apartment was small, but I managed to find a place for the plants. We lived there for not quite five months. During that time, the prayer plant began to look rather sickly. It turned yellow, then brown. Nothing I did seemed to make it better. I was truly sad because I had had the plant so long, and it held a special place because of the gift occasion. When we were ready to move into our new house, the plant had turned completely brown. I was sure it was dead, but I didn’t get rid of the pot or the plant. I just put it in the garage which had no windows, so it was completely dark. I even put another smaller pot on top of the dirt in the pot where the prayer plant had been. There was no sign of plant life in that pot.
The following spring, over six months later, I had another plant that needed to be put into a bigger pot. I remembered the pot in the garage and knew it was the perfect size. I went to the garage to retrieve the pot and removed the smaller one. Much to my surprise, there was a tiny sprout–the beginnings of a prayer plant. How could that be? The plant had received no water or light for over six months. All I can figure is that deep in the dirt there was still life. Today I have that prayer plant and several others that have sprouted from the original. It is a lesson to remember. Even when things seem hopeless, don’t give up.
Ephesians 2:4-6 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” (NIV)
Do you have an experience that taught you perseverance? What made you keep going?
I’m sure you were a...
Thirty one years ago, we had a 21 month old son and another one on the way. We thought that everything was fine with the baby but when our second son was born, he only lived about 2 hours. The pediatrician wanted us to have an autopsy done but we did not. We got to hold him after he died and he was so perfect and beautiful, we just couldn’t see having an autopsy done. I left the hospital the next day and just got home in time to get ready for the graveside service. Our first born couldn’t understand why mommy came home and didn’t have a baby brother or sister. We didn’t understand why but we knew that God had a purpose. God’s love, and family kept us going. After that, we had two more, both daughters. We wanted 2 sons and 2 daughters. I am so very thankful that I looked to God for support and comfort during that difficult time. I am very thankful that I had a small child to care for and that I didn’t give up otherwise we would not have been blessed with two more. All of our children are grown now and live out of state but we do see them as often as we can. Our son would be 31 this March if he had lived. Thanks Merrillee for your posts.
Mary, thanks again for visiting my blog. What a touching story. We can be so thankful that God is with us in trying times.
Touching Merrillee.
The plant behave like we sometimes do, it had to hit down and low, strive for anything and believe it could become whole again.
I have several examples of it both indoor and outdoor. In fact, plants, trees and flowers teach us what many humans can’t as they TRUST better than none and know how to WAIT…
When I bought this house I was appaled of hom much time and care they needed, and yet they seemed to have their own agenda and not mine, so I learned to care, to wait and, better, to TRUST. In The Lord, even for the tiny things like the buds.
Forgot to add that I know that plant – I don’t have any in my house though – but didn’t know it was called “Prayer Plant”.
Do you know why? I would like to learn more about it and thank you.
Teresa, I believe the plant is called a prayer plant because in the evenings the leaves fold up and look like hands folded in prayer. I’m not sure what the proper name of the plant is, but I’ve always known it as a prayer plant because of the way the leaves behave.
Teresa, how true. The Bible talks about how God dresses the lilies and how we should trust God to take care of us.
What a wonderful message, Merrillee! I’ve had a similar experience with a plant (a Christmas Cactus I’d received the year my Mama passed away) and it was beautiful. However, it wouldn’t bloom again, and appeared to be dying. I refused to throw it out, though—because my Mama had grown beautiful plants and the friends that gave me the cactus had known that. Anyway, 3 years ago the plant suddenly sprouted buds, then blooms! Now it blooms at least twice a year and is gorgeous–much to my delight! I am SO glad I didn’t give up on it completely. And I’m glad the Lord never gives up on us!
Hugs, Patti Jo
Patti Jo, thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing your story about the Christmas cactus. And yes, it is wonderful that the Lord never gives up on us.